


to find words for what we already know

by sugarbug



Series: the library's keeper [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Dialogue Light, Far Future, First Meetings, M/M, abandoned library
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-05
Updated: 2020-02-05
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:21:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22570888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sugarbug/pseuds/sugarbug
Summary: kei travels to the edge of the universe and finds the library is full of surprises.
Relationships: Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Series: the library's keeper [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1630363
Comments: 4
Kudos: 30





	to find words for what we already know

When Kei landed, he was greeted by a gentle wind that ruffled his bangs. They had grown too long, but he hadn’t been home in months to get a haircut. He wasn’t sure what home really was anymore.

Birds dipped low in the sky, stopping to perch on the stairs of the ridiculously large building that Kei had made the trip to see. The sun was shining, and he spotted a few stray flowers cropping up as he made his way towards his destination.

He had spent most of his remaining money on fuel to reach the planet. He’d heard stories that it was the origin place of the human race, but it had long been deserted. Even tourists had given up traveling there. It was too far from most inhabited planets, and the trip to get there could be dangerous. Kei had spent a while mapping out his own route for that very reason.

The planet was still liveable, he decided. However, people had found better planets, richer in resources and closer to intergalactic cultural hubs. The other planets in this galaxy were uninhabited, and he imagined it would be hard to make trade deals or visit space stations from this planet.

Nonetheless, the nerd in him had wanted to drop by at some point in his life. Who wouldn’t want to see what was once touted as the galaxy’s most magnificent library? To be surrounded by room after room full of physical books sounded a dream to Kei.

He took his first step up towards the library, pulling his hands from his jacket pockets when he reached the top. He pulled open the massive door, the wood creaking as it swung out. He stepped inside, footsteps echoing in the empty lobby.

He approached a screen boasting directions and search options. He wasn’t surprised it was still up and running—he’d spotted signs of solar energy technology on his flight down. Chances are the library’s administrators never shut off the existing programs. As long as the planet’s sun was still burning, the library’s electronic system would tick on.

He mindlessly swiped through the directory and map before deciding to take off on his own. He made a left down the first hallway he found and shuffled up a large staircase. The staircase led to fifteen additional floors, but Kei knew his legs weren’t going to carry him past more than the sixth, at best. He stopped at the third floor when he spotted a sign for foreign language books.

His time as a translator hadn’t been lost on him, and anything linguistic in nature piqued his interest. He strolled down multiple aisles, the charm of shelf upon shelf of real physical books never losing his attention. He’d love to hole up here for a few weeks or months or years. Returning home was looking less and less appealing. 

He stopped when he arrived at the section he'd been looking for. He reached for a book on morse code. He’d read about it once or twice in his undergrad program, but it was such an ancient form of communication that it’d been skimmed over in a sentence or two. He flipped through it, relishing the way the paper felt between his fingers. It was worn, not only through use but by time itself. The corners were soft, and the text had long begun to fade.

He climbed a few more stories, breaking the record he’d set for himself by making it to the seventh floor, stopping only to grab a few other books that caught his eye along the way. The seventh floor boasted a balcony area where people could sit and read when the weather was pleasant. The weather today was pleasant, Kei thought.

The room was more like an observatory, and the fact that it was labeled as a balcony was a bit misleading, Kei briefly thought as he pushed open the door. It was a circular room, with railings and windows splayed wide open on the side that jutted out from the library. He would have assumed that was why it was labeled as a balcony, had something else not completely stolen his attention.

Sitting cross-legged in the middle of the floor was a younger guy, probably about Kei’s age. He had soft brown hair that hung in his eyes and a smattering of freckles on his cheeks that were hard to look away from. He was drenched in the afternoon sun that was pouring in from the windows, fingers splayed out on top of an open book. He turned slowly at the sound of the door, blinking in surprise as Kei stared back with an equally shocked expression.

“Who are you?” Kei asked, clutching his collection of books protectively against his chest.

The guy looked harmless enough, but who would be camping out on a desolate planet like this? In an even more desolate building? Kei studied the notebooks and piles of books that surrounded the guy. He looked comfortable, dressed in a white t-shirt and khaki shorts. His eyebrows furrowed, and he closed the book he’d been intent on pressing open.

“I’m the library’s keeper.”

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! i was supposed to be writing something else :^) but i started listening to this ambience kinda ... video idk (shorturl.at/lDVY7), and i got INSPIRED and wrote this instead..
> 
> mildly also inspired by the doctor who silence in the library episode, though a LOT less creepy! haha that episode DEFINITELY doesnt creep me out.... NOT at all....
> 
> anyways, kinda vague and obviously not really relationship focused, but idk i was just vibing. thanks!!!! bye!!!!!!!!
> 
> UPDATE: this now belongs to a series! if you're interested, you can click below to access the other fic(s) in the series.
> 
> talk to me on twit: @goshikishair


End file.
